Android 6.0 Marshmallow will have some cool improvements to external storage support. This has led to speculation that Google might be planning to include microSD card slots in the new Nexus phones. Some FCC documents seemed to support that possibility, but we've confirmed with multiple sources that Google won't be offering a microSD card slot. It's still all internal storage in the Nexus phones.

In the case of the Nexus 6P, this isn't a huge deal. You can get as much as 128GB in that phone, which is more than enough for most people. However, the Nexus 5X will start at 16GB. Some buyers will even turn up their nose at 32GB in a phone with no expandable storage, and that's the maximum for the 5X. This is the direction Google is going, though.

So why continue to ignore microSD cards? Google believes that users need less storage than they used to with the improvements in cloud services, and the inclusion of a card slot would increase the price. To strike the right balance of performance and cost, Google opted to continue with internal storage only on the Nexus line. It's true that most people don't need as much local storage, but 16GB is pushing it, and there will always be those who can't live without 50GB of video on their device at all times. If you can't live without a card slot, the Nexus line still isn't for you.

...right, that's the FCC report that enoch861's link used as its source. Dated today. As I said. I'm looking for info that backs up DKBNYC's indication that there's more evidence besides today's FCC filing.

Deeco

Sad to say, that my next phone won't be a Nexus. ;(
Doesn't excite me anymore

"We're supporting it much better in the new OS, but that doesn't mean a damn thing because we're not bothering to support it in the hardware."

Yeah, thanks for that, Google.

jack

:'(

Willy Wonka

That is meant for android one. Andoird supports dual sim also, but not in nexus

David

I'm in Indonesia where Android One is SUPPOSED to be a BIG thing. It is NOT. The hardware is a major FAIL. Too expensive, too old spec-wise. BUT the crappy Android One phones on sale here DO have removable storage. Useless IMHO. No removable storage = no sale for me and the most of the 250M other users here in Indonesia. When is Google going to STOP trying to drive us to THEIR Cloud? Enough already.

And yes, I CAPITALIZE to EMPHASIZE. B'cause it draws TROLLS (so GIVE it to me Baby)....

My1

let my correct you:
When is ANYONE going to STOP trying to drive us to ANY Cloud?

ziffbam

Meh. That's expected. There hasn't been SD card support in Nexus devices for quite some time. As long as they have multiple internal storage options, who cares. I have a 64GB Oneplus One, and haven't even used half of the storage.

mastjaso

It's remarkable how much Google has it's head up it's own arse as of late.

"Well, the cellular coverage at Google headquarters great, let's just take that as a random sampling and assume the rest of the country [or you know, world] is the same"

ThatBabyAintMine

"We've concluded after years of testing and seeing analytics from our Nexus users over the years that they haven't been using an SD card anyway, therefore, we see no need to put an SD card slot in this year's Nexus".

"We've concluded that seeing how people used their technology last year is the best way to design technology for next year. Let's avoid an incredibly minor expense and give people the same paltry amount of storage as last year (I mean,16GB was fine in 2013 right?), and just conveniently ignore that photos or videos taken with the device now take up 4x as much space as they did previously, or that apps now take up substantially more space to support assets for these 2k and 4k + screens, or that more and more audio is being served and stored in MP3 320, or lossless formats"

Why are you trying to defend a stupid and short sighted decision? It's clear that Google is just trying to force you to pay for it's cloud services. They went from plucky upstart that just focused on winning over customers to the entrenched behemoth, crippling some of their products just to push their more lucrative ones. They are becoming late 90s / early 2000's Microsoft.

Yeah, yeah, I realized that afterwards, but it still wouldn't surprise me if they did something like that using occasional surveys as part of their "testing" and "analytics", hence why it didn't come across completely as a joke.

It's obvious, they want you to use their cloud services. They don't make money off you having your data stored locally.

Dprotenate

Exactly right. You also don't buy the ridiculously overpriced upgraded internal storage, if you can buy a $20 SD card with more.

SD cards and replaceable batteries added so much value to phones and they removed them purely for profit. I'm disappointed in Google and Android phone providers as of late.

PC

Serious Q: are unlimited data plans a perk at Google? The people who work there seem to think that we all have them.

Keith Schwerin

I use 500MB or so a month. and I have just 32GB on my phone, about 18GB used. People need to just stop being fucking stupid with data management.

Nicholas Conrad

Yeah, if we all lived exactly like you, huh? Why don't you stop being stupid on comment threads?

3165dwayne

Pathetic

meson1

It's not a data management issue. What if when you're flying and you want to watch movies on your tablet? Where's your cloud connectivity then? What about when you're on vacation where there is typically poor connectivity and/or crippling data roaming charges. The cloud is f***ing useless then. That's where MicroSD card slots come in. It's not a data management issue.

Yussef mneimneh

lol if you never use your phone right but i do use it and i have a 50gbyte plan per month for 20 euros dumbass

shonangreg

(OT ChromeOS rant) I used 500MB this morning, in about one hour, with my Chromebook tethered to my phone. I looked at a half dozen news pages, no videos, no music, and I had open Google Calendar and Sheets.

I'm pretty decent at configuration, but while my phone's data monitor kept jumping 10-20 MB every minute or so with me doing nothing, I looked on my spreadsheet to see if I could turn off some enormous sync, but there was nothing -- and it was a simple sheet with maybe 300 words of text and 30-40 cells.

So, to bring this back on topic, Google has this pervasive net, unlimited bandwidth problem across divisions.

They need a CEO at that place to kick some a$$. I love Google for gmail, Earth, Maps, VP9 video codec, and android, but FFS they really suck at being competent. Steve Jobs would fire whole divisions for the kind of sheit Google lets go on year after year. (Witness My Tracks (and Maps, panoramio, etc. as another example of utter incompetence dooming a useful and needed service).

The Silicon Valley Bubble effect where we all store all our data in the cloud, have replaced our PCs & Office with Chromebooks & Docs and consume all our media on our phones.

b0b

Kittens will die by millions because of this.
External SD cards in smartphones is the only reason to live on planet Earth.
How could Google do this to the AP - reddit circlejerk ?

João Grácio

Why is this a news? SD card was never part of google vision

Cole C

Was removable batteries ever a part of their vision? The Nexus One had both. The Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus both had removable batteries.

Nasko Hristov

I like it this way.

BenjaminPratt

Not surprised. Don't care.

Adam Christensen

Agreed. I don't think I've ever used more than 10 GB on my Nexus 5. Not everyone feels the need to take their 100 GB music collection with them.

Krojack76

I stream all my music via Google Play Music however I would like an external SD card for system backups. It's perfect for stuff like Titanium Backups or just recovery backups. Sure this only applies to rooted people but non-rooted could also use it for similar things.

My1

yeah if you have that much traffic noce for you, for me it is prehistoric speeds after 500MB usage for the rest of the month, also I have over 30GB of music on my mSD plus a LOT of pictures and my Videos (well the latter ones always get switched when I have viewed them, but if I didnt haveall my multimedia on my mSD well I'd have a problem since I also have a LOT of apps on my Phone)

DT

I have 200 apps installed and have half my space free on my 32gb nexus 6. I'd have more free but I have Google Drive aggressively cache.

My1

well it also depends on what apps you have installed. 200 apps with 200KB each wont use much.
also I dont just have apps on my phone, true that my music pics and a ig part of my vids are stored on my mSD a nother large chunk of my vids is lying on the phone (so it doesnt complain about a full mSD)

DT

Why do you need all that stuff all the time?

My1

well a large music lib for choosing what I want to listen at the moment, a large set of anime for watching it and well the apps for whatever they do.

DT

Ah, so you're ADD or anti-social, got it.

My1

actually it is asperger. and if I am in a train or stuff is it wrong to play games and stuff?
also why should I pay for 3 things regularly (home internet with enough upload speed, cloud itself with enough space and mobile internet with enough traffic) if I just can pay once for a microSD that does not need any coverage doesnt not give you expensive roaming fees, and it can be used with tethering (on PC)

DT

The answer to your question is: the vast majority of people are already paying for good home Internet and at least decent cellular, and if you can afford the high end devices you can afford the service. Cloud storage is free, so that's a moot point.

My1

but still many contracts and stuff forbid you from tethering so yould you need cloud data on a laptop while on a trip, youre gonna have a problem, also no reception, no data, also usually phones you get from a carrier (in quite some places, like US, the only option) are locked to the carrier and you can only do roaming and the price is high. and espeically one of the argest problem with clouds is privacy, I mean have people learned nothing since the leak of those nude images from icloud? you should never store important stuff (no matter whether you dont want to lose it or you dont want it to become public) in the cloud.

DT

Why bring all that up about a NEXUS?
Also, all your other points are strawmen.

Aborto

Could storage is slow, most of the world has small monthly bandwidth caps and less than perfect cellular coverage. Cloud is only a solution for people that live in areas with large caps, good coverage and that don't regularly travel, which is not most of the worlds population.

DT

Just stop. You (and nearly everyone else on this thread) are arguing against a strawman and have no idea what either you or I are talking about.

3165dwayne

Stream flab over Google play, oh, wait...

DT

This is the dumbest reply yet. There is NO phone on the market today with good enough DAC or speakers for that to matter. You picked the wrong gambit, buddy, because that's my wheelhouse. Google Play Music automatically rips my FLACs into 10 different quality MP3s and will stream the one that fits the connection quality best.

3165dwayne

Fiio and USB Audio, You dumbass. Blu xl pure, ZTE Axon elite, Marshall London and a couple others. An interest is now being placed on audio in phones dumbass.

DT

Then buy one of them, dumbass. Don't expect features for things that don't exist in the handsets we're talking about, dumbass. That was my original point, dumbass.

3165dwayne

You stupid idiot, did you even look Fiio up?

DT

You'd use that abomination, and yet somehow OTG is the devil?

3165dwayne

Oh that's awesome. you know of an OTG device that can improve sound quality as well as provide more storage?! Please, provide me with a link.

DT

Holy shit you're dumb. You can't even understand a simple statement.

3165dwayne

You're an idiot. I'd use otg if it could provide what I'd get from the aforementioneddevice. All otg provides is extra storage. it would take up the micro USB slot while only providing more storage. The SD slot already provides that and will then provide availability for the Fiio. Get it? Losing the SD slot is bad for people who'd use their devices in this manner. A device this expensive exists so that means there is a market doesn't it? I thought my point was obvious but I explained it to you anyway. Since you feel that although it is possible to enjoy flac on an android phone but you just shouldn't then please explain yourself moron who thinks everyone should use their device just as he does and enjoy low quality audio even though there are other options. I don't think OTG is evil and never said so in our discussion. I just use it for more than you do.

DT

*headdesk*

I honestly don't understand why you'd have a crazy setup like that and not just bit the bullet and buy a $99 MP3 player that does what it's good at. But again, extreme minority user there.

3165dwayne

Players in that price range are good but not that good. I have one. But it didn't cost me $99. It cost me more than that. It also has an awful interface. They all have awful interfaces. When you are out you'll also have to manage two separate interfaces. You will also miss important messages. It will also be more cumbersome to change tracks. Instead of easily changing tracks on the headphone or watch you might have to take the device out each and every time. A good music player us far more expensive than anything that I've mentioned.

DT

That's just not true. Buhbye, now.

3165dwayne

It's not true because you say its not true. Haha, you prove your idiocy every time. Dumbass, why don't you go look it up before assuming. 99$? Ha! Ibasso, Fiio x5, astel & kern, please do some research moron.

Meffaliss

Meh, don't pay attention to this DT dood, he's spamming everyone for some childish reason. :P
Your points are very valid and I know how you feel (I need music AT ALL TIMES to control my stress and not blow a fuse, no matter where I am so I store it on my many devices, mainly on SD cards. Not enough cloud storage to store most of my songs so I have to pay and not enough data on carrier plan to stream for hours on ends).
In the end, a product should have as many options as possible for all of its consumers. Forcing your consumers toward one particular service when a big chunk of them would rather use an other is just not an overall healthy choice. Thankfully, if one manufacturer does not give us choices, another sure will.

My1

yeah options are always good, also I refuse to buy a phone without a battery that I can replace quick and easy because having the charging cable from my phon in the pocket to the power pack in another pocket look stupid and is just impractical, I just drop in my spare battery and I am back to 100% in less than 30 SECONDS, I dont think that Quick Charging or whatever that was called can beat THAT...

Meffaliss

Replaceable batteries are nice. While they aren't mandatory for me personally, I like having the option in case my battery can no longer holds a charge and I can just find a replacement and then my device works like new again (more of less).
Though I can't for the life of me find a phone that has a replaceable battery, an SD card slot and a good DAC/AMP built in. Maybe the Note 4 but I ain't a fan of the Skin of the OS on that device.

The 32GB (of which you get about 25 free when you take the phone out of its box) is barely enough for the standard apps. They are improving the camera, but to what end, if the lack of storage prevents you from using it as your primary imaging device on a trip for example.

DT

"enough for the standard apps" is 6GB.

NP

The fact that a 16GB Nexus probably has less than 10.5 GB of actual usable space means even users like yourself probably need at minimum, 32 GB.

frankz00

These same people barely need the latest smartphones either. Get a Centura...

DT

The vast majority of people have never even bought an app. These idiots thinking everyone is in Dire need of an SD card drive me nuts.

Aborto

Maybe the idiots aren't thinking everyone is in dire need of an SD card. Try to follow along with me here, but maybe the idiots just realize that they themselves do, along with a lot of other people and seeing as including one costs bugger all and has no downside for the people who don't use them the constant lack of support is annoying to them.
Mind blowing possibility I know.

People selfishly insisting that a feature they are free to just not use is somehow a big problem to them drive me nuts. I don't care about decent quality front facing speakers but I wouldn't go around insulting those that do, its no problem for me if they are there.

I am well away that needing more than 64GB for my uses puts me in the minority of android police users but I have about 70GB of music that is used for my car audio system, I don't want to spend time swapping regularly and the 4GB monthly data limit and patchy reception in my country rules out cloud services.

DT

If what you said were true this would be a really good comment. Oh well.

Aborto

What part exactly do you find untrue? I may have missed your brilliant argument where you pointed that out, forgive me.

DT

Everyone wants me to hold their hand lately.

Well, first, it doesn't cost nothing, second it does affect those of us who won't want to use them (because they're usually forced onto US with a 16gb or less phone) and no one here said that it makes a device worse all things considered.
And you're not just in the minority on an android-centric tech blog, this is already an EXTREMELY tech savvy minority here, so you're a minority of a minority. It's like arguing that Google shot themselves in the foot for breaking Xposed functionality. You're literally complaining about a feature that's used by less than 5% of users of android.

Aborto

Firstly I said bugger all, not nothing. And it doesn't have to be every phone, but one unlocked Google variant with SD support would be great. Or even just in the international variant. Considering some of the other less useful gimmicks that get included the cost is not a big deal.

And I am in the minority for a US tech blog, it is nowhere near as much of a minority on the international scale. Not everyone has the mobile coverage of California and where I live almost everyone uses an SD card on phones that have the option.

While our mobile network is fast and covers most of the population it is lucky to cover a quarter of the total land area, drive between any two towns and you will loose signal. Offline maps and music are a necessity if you leave your house. Also about a 4GB monthly data limit is the largest you will get. This is not an unusual state for even rich first world countries.

Try traveling a little, nearly half the worlds population does not live in cities.

DT

Is it ironic when someone makes some crazy assumptions about you in a post whose theme is not to make assumptions? Or just freaking stupid?

Aborto

Wow, great argument.
Other than the last line insinuating you don't travel much I have made no assumptions about you, I don't even know which country you live in.
I know you started your whole argument by calling everyone in the world with a legitimate reason for wanting SD cards an idiot so thinking you are a jackass is no assumption.

Cenarl

lets forget wireless charging since, not everyone really uses it anyway, lets forget NFC, because really, only the minority will use it, when it really comes down to it. Hell, lets just scrape the phone entirely since, only a minority will use it.

Aborto

Exactly, while we are at it, I don't use Google Now, not using it isn't enough for me, lets get rid of it entirely and lob insults at the people who use it and want it back.

Well said. I'm the ridiculous example here with 300+GB of music of which I'd like to bring along as much as possible.

cf

Great. Have these people also never taken photos, listened to music, or watched videos ?

Fucking idiot.

DT

Oh, the irony. Again, most people never, ever come up against the limit of their phone storage. This is a fact.

Fucking idiot.

frankz00

Shills are so annoying...

Landrovan

Will usb otg work? Using a usb key is less practical, but can be used as a workaround.

Daniel Kirkpatrick

I do believe that otg support is not officially supported out of the box. So probably a custom kernel would be needed to do so.

EowynCarter

It does with M on the N6. (Fat32 only last I checked though)

someone755

All these news and I still can't get over how bland and boring these things look...

Eric

Probably a way to keep the cost down. The Nexus phones up until the the Nexus 6 were really intended to be baseline phones targeted at developers and power users. That premium finish and materials costs money. The Nexus 6 may not have done as well due to its high price, but that's the cost for better finish *and* the specs to go with it.

someone755

The Nexus 6 had high specs? Huh. I thought it was more the design and premium feel that commanded the price (because just look at that metal rim and sexy back curve).

Regardless, I think all previous Nexus devices were more interesting as far as design goes. All the way back from the G1, past the GNex and N4/5, they all had something going for them. These ... I just can't believe they look duller than my friend's $150 Zopo phone.
I'd compare them to a Samsung phone made between 2012 and 2014, but that'd just be insulting.

Myke Sorrel

Well damn, so 16GB non-removable for 379.99, moto pure looking better and better, lets see what the P has to offer.

Cole C

Especially if it's only 2gb RAM.

King_Android

Well, I guess I will hold on to my S6 Edge until the Spring... or the next Nexus event. Nothing about this years Nexus excites me. Nothing really new besides the Fingerprint Scanner.

James Doyle

I'm really frustrated by the "just use the cloud" argument, especially from Google. Google apps LOVE to cache insane amounts of data to your local storage. I noticed Google Photos was caching 500MB to my local storage. Chrome not far behind. You can't sell 16GB phones then take up all that storage with just regular app use!

My SD Card stores 2 things: Audiobooks and Comic books. I only stores those offline because there isn't currently a good cloud player for those two mediums. If Google Music came out and starting remembering play position or playlist position, I'd probably immediately throw all my audiobooks that way.

So yeah, the cloud is great - I'm a huge proponent of cloud storage. But sometimes it just can't do what you want.

EmeraldFLame

I don't get the 'use the cloud' argument, because I have well over 60GB of music I keep on my phone, and I listen to music nearly constantly. I can't afford to use the cloud for constant music streaming, the data costs would be outrageous. However I can buy a good 64GB SD card for a one time cost of about $30 or less.

LadderAlice

40gb of music here, and even though I have data almost everywhere I go and an unlimited plan, no way am I going to stream it all the time. I live in a big city and there are lots of times when the network gets congested and my connection slows to a crawl even on LTE. Its SO much easier to just store my music locally and not have to worry about skipping and buffering, not to mention the battery drain that comes with constant streaming. I do have it all uploaded to both Google music and Groove, but that's just a failsafe option in the unlikely event that my card dies, and also so I can stream it from my tablet if I so wish without having to fill up most of that device's limited storage.

So yeah, local storage for the win.

frankz00

It's mainly salespeople and shills that use that silly argument...

jagema

Actually, Google's official statement on sd cards is, -- it creates a confusing environment for the end user, in addition to possible data corruption issues. Basically they think the average user won't know how to deal with filesystems properly, how or why app data can or cannot go into their sdcards, complaints about the sdcard failing and having data loss, etc. Because Android is open, they decided to clean up the sdcard filesystem coding with Marshmallow in case other OEMs would still like to make use of that option. Google, however, is not on board.

They have never mentioned that the exclusion of sdcard storage is to further drive the Cloud. But it does make sense that they would do that behind the scenes seeing how the internet of things is what makes googs their money.

DT

Yes, everyone forgets the phones with 256mb local storage and "SD card support" that pretty much every manufacturer was going to until Google essentially crippled SD cards.

LOLWUT

The fact that you guys actually thought these two devices would have MicroSD support is absolutely cancerous IMO.
Man, Disqus is slowly and ominously rotting, isn't it?

MJ

Bummer! The 5X is now officially a no go! I think will get the 6P now.

Mircury119

Very disappointing. Came here after seeing the FCC doc talking about sdcard support. I really need it. The people bashing sdcard supporters are a total trip. They think since it's good for them it's good for everyone. Do you have to use every feature of a phone? No. You lose nothing by having sdcard support. Just don't use it if you don't need it.

Yeah - the LG G5 is looking like the next best 2yr upgrade option for us Note3 holdouts. sdcard & replaceable battery.

RyanWhitwam

Assuming it has those. If the G4 doesn't sell well enough, who knows what LG will do with the G5.

Third_Eye

I think the problem with the G4 is that it used 808 instead of 810 which artificially made it look as not "high-end" or a flagship when competing with other flagships.

With the issues with QCOM and 810, I think LG should have paired G4 with a 1080p screen and reduced the price a little bit and provided a better device rather than calling it a flagship & competing with S6 & variants.

They should have during upcoming Oct launch, with the V10, done a 810 based QHD LG G4+, to compete with Huawei manufactured Nexus 6P. With a removable battery and uSD, they will clearly have had with the crowd that hates the direction Google is taking against SD card support.....

Alessandro Eppacher

don't necessarily think they should go backwards in specs. the g3 was 2k, how can they justify the g4 being 1080p a year later?

Third_Eye

Because G4 is not the flagship in true ways due to QCOM issues with SD810. See what Nexus 5X is? 1080p screen with SD808.

Also the 1080p in LG G2 was a fine one. Having owned both G2 and G3, I prefer the G2 screen over G3 screen on brightness and battery life. Keep the screen to Auto on LG G3 and see it suddenly dimming while reading and suddenly brightening. No problems with G2.

Bonedatt

I take it you don't use your s-pen much? If you do, how does the LG G5 serve as an alternative to your note 3? Get the Note 4.

Krojack76

Search for "DotPen stylus" on Amazon. It's not exactly like the SPin in having all the features but it's the best stylus for every other smart phone out there.

Felix

Who cares?
I love the Nexus line especially because there is no stupid SD card slot.
32GB is enough for me - and i think for very people too.

Thevendran Perumal

32GB is nothing for me. I have a huge collection of music that wont stop growing any time soon. I'm now using OPlus1 64GB. Already filled up half of that. Now imagine if thats a 32GB phone. Already filled up. So for people like me 32GB is peanuts. Smartphone manufacturers plz take note, if you dont provide MicroSD expansion, at least give us bigger internal storage.

LadderAlice

"I don't use this feature, therefore it's stupid and nobody else should use it either!"

Felix

Yeah forget the fact that its my opinion - imho SD card slot is bad.
I had a enormous chaos on my phone with SD:
Many directorys and files where created twice, lot of trash were unloaded, trouble with the app2sd move and the message that there is no free space although there is some.
But well, thats maybe only my opinion..

Meffaliss

Sucks you had that experience with SD cards, man. Though I think some of the problems (if not most) you've encountered weren't really caused by the SD cards themselves, but most likely by Android just being unable to properly use them. : o

CoolRaoul

You could be interested to know that when using a phone with a built-in SD card slot, nobody is forced to use it. It's even possible to forget it's there.

How long do you go without internet? Weeks? If you are offloading photos and video regularly, it really isn't a problem.

Cub

Maybe I don't want to continually upload or offload photos and videos. Maybe I want it to be a maintenance free experience?

64 gigabytes would be plenty for me for a couple years. $300 mid-range unlocked phones with SD card slots are featuring this level of capacity, but I wanted that in a stock package with fast updates from Google. So I guess I might be looking at the Moto X instead. Not the end of the world.

If you want it to be maintenance free your ONLY option is to use the cloud. I never pay attention to the photos on my phone precisely because I have Google Photos.

My1

well if you really count 64kbit/s after you transferred 500MB as "internet" then fine.

DT

It's like you don't even know what elegant even means. No special purpose built hardware, and it works EXACTLY like pendrives for the last 15 years have worked. That's pretty goddamn elegant.

Renaldi I.

I fail to see what's elegant about a large, oblong storage device sticking out of a cable connected to an already large device. It's not practical to keep it in all the time, as it runs the risk of getting broken in everyday usage as well as make it uncomfortable to carry in pockets.

On the other hand, we have a small, relatively inexpensive card the size of your fingernail that can hold the amount of data the pendrive holds in a compact package tucked seamlessly into the phone. It isn't rocket science to add this functionality to a device. The process is also almost painless.

And you sincerely think that pendrives are more "elegant?"

DT

That's because you have poor reading comprehension.

Renaldi I.

Then pray tell, what exactly were you trying to say?

Cub sarcastically described USB OTG as an elegant solution to storage issues. You chimed in and offered the benefits of USB OTG and seemed to think of it as "[sic] pretty goddamn elegant."

Meanwhile, I questioned your claim of "elegance" considering USB OTG with the drawbacks of such a solution. I think that pretty much covers it. Can you comprehend that?

Renaldo Johnson

Looks like I'm sticking with the G4. If I'm itching to upgrade this year and the Marshmellow prospects looks slim, I'll take a plunge for the Moto.

rgl168

The patent issue with exFAT could be at play here, as 64GB+ cards are exFAT by default, while exFAT is patented by Microsoft.
I supposed you can limit the support to 32GB or below, but that will generate support calls when people put in higher capacity cards.

Eric

Good point. I had forgotten about exFAT patents.

Yeah_Whatever..

Nope nothing to do with it. Even devices that dont have SD cards pay fees, its why an Android can connect to a windows device.

No, the point is there is still a payment if the device can be read by a windows PC, not that its the same payment.

Eric

Another issue is that SD card support is a nightmare for developers, and there are a ton of low-quality SD cards out there that die or start corrupting files after a few months of use.

This creates both development problems (each device often needs its own SD card support and work-arounds and constant updates whenever an Android update breaks compatibility), as well as support problems (users think an app or phone is broken/buggy/etc. when it's really their SD card going bad).

You can of course choose to still include SD card support, and many do because users demand it, but I can understand why Google might shy away from it (and wanting to push people towards paid cloud services is certainly no small factor, too).

thunderqus

Yes sure, that improved our experience a lot in Nexus 7 2012 which didnt came with SD card and yet had the worlds most crappiest storage build right into that damn thing, the point is having option is always good!

mark

The whole Android 4.4 and 5 SD card changes was a pain to us developers (but entirely Google's own doing). But Android 6 will reportedly allow microSD cards to be used as if they were internal storage.

Hardware problems is annoying, but that can happen to any part of the device.

Plus, the Nexus devices are a minority of the Android devices out there, most of which have SD cards, so it isn't going to make life easier for people. It just makes things annoying for Nexus buyers.

Is there even a slight chance left that the 6P will have a built-in stylus? Because that is literally the only thing that is keeping me from being able to convince my friend to switch away from his Galaxy Notes at this point. I've pretty much swayed him if not for that one point that he is stuck on (wasn't THAT hard considering he hates TouchWiz as much as anyone else and all).

Zachary Haddenham

No.

Deman

Sure, Cloud support has gotten better, but most carriers don't have unlimited data plans, so it's not like we can just stream all of our music from the cloud.

I guess my decision will be based on how much the 64 or 128GB versions are.

DT

Why do people here (who you'd assume are tech savvy) have no idea how to use wifi?

Aborto

Do you not leave the house? Turns out wifi only has a range of a hundred meters or so at best, who knew?, some people have lives outside of home and work.

DT

Yes, thank you for proving my point.

BoFiS

Ugh, this is basically a deal-breaker for me, anything without MicroSD is a non-starter, because fuck that, I want to be able to stick in my current 128GB card, filled with music and backups, and have it instantly on my new device...

thezero4

I've been a Nexus user since the S. I jumped to a Moto X Pure and think I made the right choice for myself. Micro SD card was something I was looking forward to, especially with marshmallow.

thunderqus

Why the hell it is so hard for Google to understand that cloud doesn't help when there is no network in underground tube or that I only have 2GB plan!!! I know cloud is future but having MicroSD slot doesn't take us back in 1950's either!

imdevu

Ah well... i have a 500 MB plan.. but i carry my Sandisk OTG Pendrive, an inconvenience, but a requirement.

Patrick Smithopolis

I work in construction and right now I'm at a job site that has a terrible signal. I use the music stored on my phone to play music through my Bluetooth speaker. Personally, I would rather have local content than online content because the former can be used anywhere.

LadderAlice

Hell, I get good signal everywhere I go AND I have an unlimited data plan, and I still refuse to stream cause it eats battery.

My1

well it's nice for you, but there are a LOT of places where you cant get unlimited data anymore, like Germany for example. there you have technically unlimited data without extra cost but after a set traffic you get 64kbit/s

DT

Why the hell is it so hard to understand that the vast, vast majority of users will never, ever use an SD card whether there is a slot or not?

mark

Because Google crippled them - but that'll change with Android M.

Aborto

Citation required.
You claim the vast majority never use them when a single company has sold over two BILLION microSD cards in the last decade. Combine all the companies together and it will be vastly more than that, not all are used in phones but it is definitely the most common use for them.
Put that together and the number of users of micro SD cards is going to be in the hundreds of millions at least. More than uses features like NFC or wireless charging.

I'd like to see some statistics as to how many 16GB smartphones of any type are sold and the demographic breakdown of the consumers. It is curious that a logically unpopular choice is still being offered,

Mike O’Connell

It has nothing to do with user's needs. It's collusion with wIreless companies to force users to use more online data at a higher profit.

dontsh00tmesanta

No 64gb option for 5x? Looks like I'm sticking to my g4

lomsha

That was to be expected.

Yeah_Whatever..

For a world wide company that is all about data and information from all over the planet Google sure is one hell of an inward looking, short-sighted dinosaur.

The legend of staff almost living on campus seems very true, maybe if they went home more often they would realise the rest of the world does actually exist and isnt a virtual world like in Tron.

Yeah_Whatever..

So reason #15,352,980 not to buy a Nexus.

crabbers

I don't give a shit about the amount of storage I have on my phone, I care about being able to offload images from my camera. If I have a MicroSD card, I can do that really easily. If I don't, I have to carry an additional dongle. Not the worst thing in the world, no, and it won't keep me from buying the 6P IF they don't (not going to say that they won't until I see a phone without it), but it would be really nice to be able to ditch my card reader.

Proioxix

Did anyone really expect anything else? If you did perhaps you haven't been paying much attention.

Wesley

I hope that they do have an sd card slot, though with a 128gb option it isn't all bad, except for paying over the odds for it when an sd card slot costs about $1 or less.

SolarShane13

Why are people throwing a fit? Nexus devices never have had a SD slot of any kind.

I really long to own a Nexus phone. But the lack of expandability stops me. My first Nexus phone will be one that has expandability, how far in the future?

drzfr3shboialex

Honestly I'm kinda taking this with a grain of salt. If it passed through the FCC and all the specs are in line with everything that's been leaking (and it has) then I'll believe it. Sources could also be lying just so Google has something special to unveil (obviously I could also be wrong). I have a feeling Google will announce the Nexus 6p tomorrow with micro SD support as well as some new camera tech or improvements. Micro SD will and a good camera will make it an automatic buy (since T-Mobile has no plans of carrying the Z5 premium).

I don't understand the google policy :(
with MicroSD , this phone will outperform any other phone (with the same hardware) on the market and they would sell so much....
It s clear for me : no microSD , no buying.

Cenarl

"To strike the right balance of performance and cost, Google opted to continue with internal storage only on the Nexus line."

we love the cost of our 128GB phone, we hope you buy that one.

LadderAlice

Bingo.

mark

Not on the Nexus 5 though! If the Nexus 5 is intended as a lower priced model, microSD would have been nice. The argument of "waah it's too confusing" doesn't apply anymore with Android M.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Well I guess this was expected. The Nexus lineup hasn't offered an SD-card slot since like 2009, not sure why would people expect things to change this time

NP

The storage capacity of phones is such an overlooked and critical component of their utility when you have no access to the cloud... I.E. when you're on a backpacking and using your phone as a navigation device with downloaded maps, or when you fly a lot and want to store flash cards for studying with Anki decks, or download some music for offline play. Also considering you have only 75% of the advertised space available for actual use, you quickly find yourself running out. If you don't run out of storage space, you should probably get out more.

DT

It doesn't work that way. If you have a 16gb phone with 11gb usable space, then the 32gb version will have 25gb usable space.

NP

Exactly, that's why starting the 5x off at 16GB and maxing out at only 32GB with no option for microSD expansion is rather limiting for people who use their phones outside of the city with reliable LTE/WiFi. Either way, its 2015. 16GB phones have been the standard for at least 6 years now if not longer. The cost to the manufacturer for 16GB vs 32GB of storage space is likely to be only minimally significant, that really the starting point should have been 32GB, especially with no expansion options.

DT

How many people are going to assume I live in the city with unlimited data?
And I hope you never lead design on a product.

Also, you can't respond to a post pointing out you're wrong with "exactly, " I am not agreeing with you.

kgptzac

Why does Android Police apologizes for Nexus devices' shortcomings? Are these articles originally intended for Android Apologists?

Erstam

I don't get why they can charge us 50 bucks more for like 32gb storage, but give is no option to pay more for sd card of cost was really the issue.

Nathan J

They are mid-range phones at best, whatever they may be priced at. Anyone who expects premium features on a Nexus hasn't been paying attention.

Google's aim with the Nexus hasn't changed. It's the base line model for Android for developers to target. But people began using them as cheap flagship replacements.

I just can't get excited for mid-range phones that compromise so much. Not when the Moto X is doing all the things (except IR blaster, which nobody but HTC is doing anymore) and will most likely undercut the 6P. With its price the same as the 5X, why would you buy the 5X? You might as well buy an iPhone.

CoreRooted

Exactly... The Nexus devices are nothing more (and always have been) developer reference devices for the current version of Android. I have never understood why people treat them as flagship devices when Google has often referred to them as developer devices.

I'm pretty sure they just don't want to license FAT32 from Microsoft on their Nexus-branded phones.

hnl

Looks like I am not going to get a Nexus for my next phone...

MEBOOT

Moto X Pure 64GB Internal +128 GB External + 128 GB OTG FTW Woot!

Chris Zeller

My Droid Bionic in 2011 had 16gb internal. How is this acceptable to barely be better storage wise over 5 years later? The fan boys here need to really step aside on this one. It's shamful and unfortunate.

I love my Nexus 5, but now that it's constantly full I was really looking for an affordable nexus with removeable storable. I'm extremely disappointed that Google continues to laugh at power/data hungry users.

Andy

Why Samsung and Google products need to follow the footprints of Apple to exclude the Micro SD Slot? Samsung even went further to make their batteries non removable like Apple, now I can't have an extended batteries.

If they want to copy Apple, then it was better for me to just go for Apple. I never owned an iPhone and have always been using Android since Nexus One from Android 2.1

Now I feel I should have just gone with Apple products. No point for Android phones to keep getting rid of Adobe Flash, Removable batteries, Micro SD cards, IR Ports. Grrrr

Quix

Sorry Google, Moto X Play it is. That has an SD slot. It honestly feels like Moto designed their phones for Marshmallow more than the Nexuses. The microSD slot is on the back of the sim holder, it takes up very little space. Build quality is a bit better too. Hopefully it will last longer than my Nexus 5 (god rest its soul) did.

JohnNLD

Google fail to see the light once again, innovation is a word still to be found in thier personal dictionary......

Bobbert

I am frequently without wifi or cell service. I really like the nexus phones....but being unable to expand the phone memory is a complete deal breaker for me.

An the whole "They confuse users" part is such a bulls*** excuse. Models with and without SD slots could be offered. I would pay a premium for such a slot.

Kielan

What kind of backwards logic is this? being on the internet drains battery life fast, it's just not feasible to have massive amounts of data beamed to your phone from the cloud, local data storage is essential, I will not buy a phone without possibility of storage upgrade on principle, encourage others to do the same, this is a horribe trend in phone development, what are they going to take away next?

Kielan Realist Reviewer

Here's some facts as to why cloud storage is not feasible on mobile devices:

1. Many phone operators have very limited data speeds and data storage plans, some countries have good unlimited storage plans, but it is not the majority, therefore only wealthy people can use cloud services on a regular basis.

2. Mobile internet speeds are terrible outside of cities, but it's clear they don't care about when you go on a road trip, work journey or camp out and want your music/film/tv show collection on your microSD.

3. Using mobile data eats allot of battery life, it goes down fast and having your phone plugged into a usb all the time is not realistic.

4. Cloud storage is subject to a consistent rental cost, micro sd is one time cost.

In conclusion, forcing your customers to use cloud storage over micro sd is a terrible idea, until battery capacity is massively increased, or mobile internet coverage and allowance is improved it is not practical or feasible at this time.

Anonymous

5. Your entire Google account could potentially be in risk if you upload your own private copyrighted content

John Kiser

It's kind of strange... Cuz well Marshmallow adds MicroSD support in a massive way (letting it expand actual phone storage if you format it that way or lets it operate like it does on most other phones that have SD card support already) It's one of the features of marhsmallow and yet the phones they designed weren't setup to show off a new big feature?

Sébastien Bo

Internal memory is horrible if all your pictures are stuck on it when your phone is broken...
Internal storage is also a fat lie, you get 16gb, but actually 10GB is used for the system, which leaves you with 6GB of storage, for your high res pictures, videos, mp3, offline navigation maps... That just really bad...